-Elena-
I sat on the floor against my cell bars while Damon stood against his as the basement door across from us opened. "What the hell is this place?" A voice asked and I furrowed my eyebrows and quickly stood as Aaron came in.
"Aaron?" I asked in confusion and some relief once I saw him and he rose an eyebrow at me.
"Great. Mini-Wes." Damon replied with a sigh from the cell beside me and Aaron furrowed his eyebrows.
"I had no idea what Wes was doing—I didn't even know there was a basement down here." Aaron stated as he looked around the room and other cells around us in confusion.
"Aaron, you have to help us." I stated in defeat towards him before he pulled out some sort of fun from his waistband and I furrowed my eyebrows.
"I wanna know the truth." Aaron warned, loading the gun full of wooden bullets. "When you met me at Megan's memorial, you asked me a bunch of questions." He stated before groaning as one of the bullets fell onto the floor.
"Slick hands, cowboy." Damon stated sarcastically and Aaron angrily looked up at him.
"Yeah, well I've never used a gun before. And I've never killed anyone either, unlike you." Aaron countered as he looked at me and I furrowed my eyebrows.
"What are you talking about?" I asked in confusion as Aaron's breaths became shaky.
"Wes said a vampire killed Megan." Aaron answered before he cocked the pistol and pointed it at my head.
"And you thought it was Elena?" Damon asked in annoyance from the cell beside me and I took a deep breath.
"No. Megan was inside this house. I hadn't even been invited in yet—" I started before Aaron quickly cut me off.
"Wes also said that a vampire killed my parents! Maybe that was you, too." Aaron countered as he tilted his head and I groaned lightly.
"No, Aaron that's impossible—" I started again only for him to cut me off.
"Why else would you be so interested in me?" Aaron asked in disbelief as he held the gun closer to me now.
"Calm down." Damon warned from his cell and I felt my breath hitch in my throat.
"Why else would you pretend to be my friend? She's a vampire!" Aaron stated with glazed over eyes as he looked at Damon before back at me.
"Not the one that killed your parents." Damon countered calmly and I watched as Aaron narrowed his eyes at me. "It was all me." He added and I furrowed my eyebrows. Aaron slowly lowered the gun and looked at Damon in confusion.
"What did you just say?" Aaron asked emotionlessly before he put the gun up towards Damon who didn't answer. "Start talking." He warned and I clenched my jaw.
"Damon, what are you doing?" I asked in confusion but Damon didn't answer me as his eyes were glued to Aaron's.
"In 1953, after the fire, Enzo was dead. So I had to take in my revenge plan solo. My plan was to take out the Augustine society and then kill every member of the Whitmore family." Damon stated emotionlessly and I furrowed my eyebrows as Aaron watched him. "Except one person. Then I'll take out the Whitmore family all over again.. Leaving only one person to carry on the name. Then I'll take out the generation after that, and so on, and so on." Damon explained as silence surrounded us. "And that's exactly what I did." He pointed out and I watched as Aaron's eyes watered.
"How many Whitmores shave you killed?" Aaron asked, letting the gun shake in his hand as he stared at Damon through the cell bars.
"Since 1958? I lost count." Damon answered emotionlessly and I clenched my jaw at him as I looked away from Aaron.
"When was the last one?" I asked emotionlessly, only for Damon to not answer. "Damon, when was the last one?" I repeated again, more anger in my voice this time.
"A few months ago." Damon answered emotionlessly and I slowly shook my head at him. "Her name was Sara.. Had to go all the way to Charleston to find her. It was a weekend trip." He added in a matter of fact voice and I clenched my hands around my cell bars.
"But you and Mariana were together a few months ago." I replied in confusion and Damon sighed.
"Staring the summer of our lives.. Not even she knew. I told you it wasn't pretty—" Damon started before a gunshot through the air cut him off and I heard Damon's body fall to the floor from the cell beside me.
"No!" I screamed as I widened my eyes at Aaron who's finger was holding down the trigger. I fell to the floor and looked through the bars to the other cell to see Damon laying unconscious with a bullet wound in his head.
-Mariana-
"Elena, hey. It's been a few hours since I last talked to you. Did you find Aaron? Did you find Wes? Did you find anything?" I asked in defeat through my phone as I walked down the hall only to hear a thud come from the library. "Uh.. Just—Just call me, okay?" I asked with a sigh before I hung up and walked towards the library to see Stefan set a broken chair beside the fireplace and I rose an eyebrow at him as I leant against the doorway. "For the record, I only broke one of these." Stefan pointed out as he gestured down at it while he held one of the legs in his hand.
"It was an ugly chair." I replied in some amusement as I walked towards him and picked up another leg that was on the floor.
"So I guess you were right all along. It was easier for me to focus on my physical pain than the breakup." Stefan stated quietly and I rose an eyebrow as I held the leg in my hand. "I need to move on." He added and I gestured the broken leg towards him as I walked forwards.
"So you admit it. I do know what I'm doing." I pointed out in amusement as I smirked a bit. "Well, Katherine did." I added, rolling my eyes in slight annoyance.
"To be honest with you, I never know what either you or Katherine are doing exactly." Stefan replied with a small smile and I smirked a bit before I looked at the fireplace between us.
"Well... Sometimes, I don't either." I admitted in amusement as I looked back at him and handed him the leg of the chair. Stefan chuckled a bit as he looked at me and took the leg before he threw both of them towards the broken chair beside us. "I should go help Caroline get the safe out of the parlor." I pointed out before I walked towards the door only to have Stefan grab my arm.
"Thank you.. Mariana." Stefan stated quietly once I looked back at him in confusion and I gave him a small smile.
"You're welcome." I replied before he gently let my arm go and I felt his fingertips rub over my skin softly as he did. I gave him a short nod before I quickly walked out of the library, leaving him there.
-Elena-
I groaned lightly as I opened my eyes and slowly looked around the room I was in.. Bright lights cascaded above me as White sheets were sprawled around the room.. A distant humming cane to my ears but I couldn't make it out. I tried to get up from the table I sat on but soon realized my hands and feet were strapped in and I couldn't move. "What? What's happening?" I asked loudly as worry washed over me..
"Ah." A voice in an Australia accent stated from around me and I looked to the side of me to see a man with dark brown hair and eyes laying on another table, staring at me. "Welcome. I'm 12144. The names Enzo." He added and I furrowed my eyebrows at him as my mind cane to realization at who he was.. But how could it be? I stared at the man in confusion as he looked away from me and up towards the ceiling, lightly humming to himself again.
-Mariana-
I opened my eyes and slowly turned over to see an empty space in the bed instead of Damon.. Yet again. "Elena should have called by now." I stated in confusion as I grabbed my phone from the bedside table. I quickly got up and vamped around the room to put on clothes and do my hair before I walked out of the bedroom, only to run into Katherine who was coming from the direction of Stefan's room.. Somewhat clothed. I rose my eyebrow at her but she quickly ignored it and fast walked down the stairs, towards the front door. "Uh, hello?" I asked in annoyance, vamping in front of her as she stopped at the front door before it opened, revealing a bloody Damon in the same shirt he was wearing two nights ago.
"What the hell happened to you?" Katherine asked eyeing him up and down as did I, noticing his heavy breathing as well as the alarming look on his face.
"Ditto." Damon countered, looking her up and down as he eyed the streaks of grey in her hair. "Elena's not here by any chance, is she?" Damon asked, quickly looking around us before turning towards me.
"No, I haven't talked to her since—" I started before Katherine quickly me off.
"Haven't seen her. Not like I've been looking." Katherine pointed out with a sigh of boredom as she turned towards the front door and I rolled my eyes at her.
"Stef, you awake?" Damon asked loudly up towards Stefan's room and I watched Katherine slowly look back at him with a mischievous smirk.
"You know, he hasn't seen her either. I know because we were together. All night." Katherine stated in amusement and I furrowed my eyebrows at her as Damon did also.
"Look. I've had a very crappy couple of days, if you're implying what I think you're implying—" Damon started in annoyance before Katherine cut him off.
"Why? What were you thinking? That our hot, naked bodies collided in one unforgettable night of passion?" Katherine asked, tilting her head at the two of us and I slowly shook mine.
"I'm gonna barf." I stated quietly and she gave me a small smile and shrugged.
"Great, then my work here is down. Too-da-loo." Katherine stated with a wink before walking out of the house. I quickly looked back at Damon, about to say something before he kissed me quickly and I furrowed my eyebrows at him, completely taken aback. But the good kind.
"You have no idea how much I needed that." Damon stated as he kissed me and I furrowed my eyebrows up at him. I kissed him back before we pulled away and I looked him over with a sigh.
"You need to shower, change and then you can explain where the hell you have been for almost two days." I stated as I looked up at him and watched as he stared back down at me. "Damon, where have you been?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows as I looked him over in defeat.
-Elena-
I opened my eyes and breathed heavily as I looked to the right of me to see a liquid drip as bright lights still shined above me, almost blinding me. My vision was blurry and weak as was my body. This room.. Seemed so familiar.. Flashes of a child giggling cake into my mind before a figure stood above my head. "Subject 83182 appears conscious." An upside down Wes stated and I breathed heavily as I realized I was still strapped to the table.
"Where am I?" I asked in concern as I looked around while Wes stood away from me.
"Why? Look familiar?" Wes answered emotionlessly as he examined my vervain drip and I slowly shook my head at the multiple machines whirring around me but I narrowed my eyes at one in particular.. A gas machine.
"What is that thing—what are you doing to me?" I asked as my breaths increased as Wes moved towards me again.
"83182 resume prep for blood Dialysis." Wes stated put a oxygen mask on me and I thrashed around, trying to fight him but I couldn't. "Count from 10, 9, 8, 7.. 6... 5.." He added as I slowly fell back into unconsciousness and lost him.
-Mariana-
"Where the hell you been?" Stefan asked as he walked out of his bathroom fully clothed while Damon leant against the doorway and I sat on the desk.
"Ah, you know, being held against my will, shot in the head. Now, I can't find Elena. How was your evening? Anything out of the ordinary happen?" Damon asked sarcastically, narrowing his eyes at Stefan as he walked towards him.
"Wait a minute, what do you mean you can't find Elena?" I asked, shaking my head at him as the two stood in front of me.
"I mean, she's not picking up her phone, she's not in her dorm, she's nowhere in this house, which leads me to believe that Dr. creepy Ken doll has her somewhere." Damon answered quickly, narrowing his eyes at me.
"Wait, are you talking about that weirdo bio teacher?" Stefan asked in confusion as he furrowed his eyebrows while Damon grabbed a coat that was sitting on the bed frame beside him.
"Yeah, the one that operates on vampires during business hours—yeah, that one?" Damon answered scoffing before he threw the coat at Stefan and I widened my eyes. "Put your hero hair on, Stefan, let's go get Elena." He added, gesturing his head towards the door.
"You just said you don't know where she is." Stefan countered in confusion and Damon rose his eyebrow.
"I don't, which means we're gonna have to find us some leverage. Come on." Damon pointed out as he walked towards the door and I followed him only for him to quickly turn back towards me. "Not you." He warned and rose an eyebrow, taken aback.
"Okay, this is not a trip with Silas to find a goddamn anchor, Damon. This is my sister, who could either be dead or alive. I'm going." I argued and watched as Damon eyed me silently and carefully before looking passed me and at Stefan. I rose my eyebrow and looked between the two who were doing their silent language shit once again. "I know for a damn well fact that you two are not planning on agreeing that I stay here. She's my sister!" I stated in disbelief towards both of them.
"Yes, and if you get caught too it will be on me, Mariana." Damon countered, gently cupping my face with his hand and I shook my head in response as I pulled away from him. "I promise that we will come back with Elena, Ari." He added, sighing at me in defeat but I just stared back at him.
"You better come back. All of you." I responded emotionlessly as I looked back at Stefan who stared at me before I turned away from him again. Damon kissed the top of my head gently before he quickly turned and walked out of the room with Stefan following quickly behind.
-Damon-
I sighed deeply as I sat beside Aaron on the couch inside of the Whitmore dormitory. I pulled one of his headphones out and watched him jump as he noticed it was me, making me smirk. "Pop quiz. Your girlfriend's sister is taken by a mad scientist, now do you: 'A, get your girlfriend a new sister.' 'B, call the police.' Or 'C, kill someone who is close to that mad scientist'?" I asked, giving him a fake smile before he quickly got up and moved towards the stairs only to be stopped by Stefan who smiled at him knowingly.
"Sit." Stefan stated emotionlessly, gesturing him back towards the couch as I patted the spot he was previously sitting in.
"I have no idea where Wes took her." Aaron stayed in defeat as he sat beside me and Stefan sat in the chair across from us.
"Well, they're not at his lab so where else could he hide a vampire?" Stefan asked with furrowed brows and Arron folded his arms over his chest.
"I'm sorry.. Am I supposed to know who you are?" Aaron asked in confusion and I sighed, putting an arm on the back of the couch.
"That's my brother Stefan. But I'd watch your tone with him. He's kind of in the midst of a psychotic break." I pointed out quietly as Stefan sat back in the chair and rose an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry, I'm what?" Stefan asked, taken aback and I rolled my eyes lightly back at him.
"Oh, come on. You don't think I know about you and Katherine?" I asked in annoyance and Stefan slowly nodded with a sigh.
"Oh, I see.. You're jealous." Stefan stated and I scoffed, shaking my head.
"More like disturbed. That's my girlfriend's mother." I pointed out in annoyance and felt Aaron tense up from beside me, obviously having no clue what we were talking about as I looked at him. "See, he's off his rocker, he's losing his mind. Teetering on the brink of insanity." I stated quietly in warning for a dramatic affect.
"How are you not dead? I shot you." Aaron stated as he stared at me curiously and I rose an eyebrow and looked around us quickly to see if anyone heard him.
"Well, because you went for the head, you gotta go for the heart." I answered in annoyance before I lightly smacked the back of his head. "Go for the heart next time.. Now where's Elena?" I asked again and watched as he ran a hand over his forehead.
"I have no idea." Aaron answered in frustration, making Stefan tilt his head and fold his arms over his chest. "All that Wes told me was to go about my life as usual." He added in defeat and I gave a short nod.
"Well, you're gonna call Wes, and you're gonna tell him that if he doesn't give us Elena, the next experiment that he conducts is going to be sewing your arms back on." I threatened and gave a big smile as Aaron stared back at me, completely taken aback.
-Elena-
I looked around me again as I noticed the black color of the walls surrounding the room.. Like ash.. "This is my dads clinic.. We're in the basement." I pointed out weakly as I looked towards Wes who stood at a computer across from me.
"Was your dads clinic. Then your town council burned a whole bunch of vampires down here." Wes stated as he slowly walked around me. "Now it's just a condemned building in Mystic Falls where no one will find us." He pointed out as he stared down at me and I slowly shook my head back at him before his phone started ringing and he quickly grabbed it. Wes walked out of the room and I groaned, pulling on my wrists as I tried to break the straps holding me but I was too weak.. There was no point.
-Mariana-
"I don't hear you counting." Katherine stated in a straining voice as I watched her holding herself up into a hand stand while I held her legs up, supporting her as Matt looked down at his stopwatch.
"Four, five, six, seven—" Matt started before Katherine groaned, loosing traction on her hands and fell over but I caught her legs and put them down gently. "Good try." Matt stated, helping her up and she scoffed as she breathed heavily.
"Good try? That was horrible, Matt. Come on, I'm paying you to make me hot again, whip me into shape and prolong this death thing as long as possible." Katherine stated in annoyance as she dusted herself off before she started doing jumping jacks.
"Yeah, that will happen." Matt replied as he chuckled and I nudged him in annoyance.
"What did you say?" Katherine asked, furrowing her eyebrows at him but he shrugged and shook his head, pretending that he said nothing. Katherine stopped doing jumping jacks and turned towards him in complete confusion. "No, seriously. I didn't hear you." She added before quickly widening her eyes and holding a hand to her head. "Oh, god, I'm going deaf. I'm going deaf" Katherine stated loudly, holding her ear and I exchanged a somewhat amusing look with Matt. "My entire body is falling apart." She whined, breathing heavily and I rose my eyebrow at her as she leant against a tree. "I can't breathe—I can't breathe-" Katherine started hyperventilating and I rose an eyebrow at her before I quickly grabbed her water bottle and handed it to her.
"If you're so anxious not to be dead, why don't you just have a vampire turn you?" Matt asked, raising his eyebrow and I smirked a bit.
"She tried that. Every time she drinks vampire blood, her body rejects it." I answered as Katherine put her water bottle on the ground in front of her. When she stood back up, her back cracked and I rose my eyebrow as she groaned in relief. I sighed at her before I heard a twig snap from beside us. I looked over instinctually to see the same woman who attacked us at Joe's bar.
"Who's that? I can't see—" Katherine started in confusion before I clenched my jaw and vamped towards the vampire, pushing her up against a tree across from us.
"What the hell do you want with Katherine!" I asked angrily at her. The woman clenched her jaw at me and pushed me off before handing me a piece of paper that she held in her hand. I furrowed my eyebrows at her before I looked down at it and started reading. "Dear Nadia, sorry I had to kill your boyfriend, but it was the motherly thing to do. Suicide however, not very motherly of me." I read quietly before I looked up at Nadia who folded her arms over her chest as her eyes fell in Katherine.
"Great. So, um, Stefan clearly gave you my suicide note." Katherine stated towards her and I furrowed my eyebrows at Katherine. "What's your point?" She added, shrugging before Nadia vamped towards her and slapped her face hard.
"Damn!" Matt stated from in between the two, probably turned on by it while Katherine looked at Nadia as she held a hand to her cheek.
"That's for trying to kill yourself without saying goodbye." Nadia stated in a hurt voice and I sighed deeply before I ripped the note in half, making both of them look back at me. "Who do you think you are?" Nadia asked in her Bulgarian accent through gritted teeth.
"This is Maria Rosalyn Petrova." Katherine answered with a small sigh and I narrowed my eyes at her before I looked back at Nadia. "Mariana, meet Nadia Diane Petrova.. Your sister." She added and I narrowed my eyes at Katherine and folded my arms over my chest.
"Yeah, I kind of gathered that from the note that you so generously wrote her." I stated emotionlessly towards her and I looked at Matt who didn't seemed phased by any of this. Which lead me to suggest that he pretty much knew about Nadia. Nice.
"So you've clearly met Nadia before. Who else know about my long lost and obviously older, sister?" I asked skeptically, looking at Nadia who narrowed her eyes back at me.
"Stefan and Caroline." Matt answered with a shrug and I slowly shook my head before I looked back at Nadia while Katherine sighed deeply.
"So you're the first born. The one she thought died." I stated, trying to match up the story with the image and Nadia narrowed her eyes back at me.
"And you're the one she literally made to be her scape-goat." Nadia replied in some amusement and I scoffed lightly and tilted my head at her.
"We're gonna get along just fine." I stated emotionlessly before I looked at Katherine who remained completely silent.
-Damon-
"Do you wanna give me a little back story as to how you know one another?" Stefan asked as the three of us walked down the campus sidewalk.
"Aaron is Aaron Whitmore. And he comes from a very long line of vampire-probing, blood-testing, organ-removing freaks called Augustine." I answered as I looked at all of the students that surrounded us.
"Why do you know this?" Stefan asked as he looked at me and I sighed.
"Because I was their test subject in the fifties." I replied emotionlessly, walking on as Stefan stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets.
"What do you mean test subject?" Stefan asked in confusion and I rolled my eyes back at him.
"Meaning I donated my body to science. Except I was alive and it was against my will." I answered again, letting a fake smile spread across my face before Stefan stopped us quickly.
"Wait, hold on a minute. How do I not know about this?" Stefan asked with furrowed brows and I sighed loudly in annoyance.
"Don't get all guilt-ridden Stefan on me. We were on the outs back then. By the time it was over, you know, it was over." I stated emotionlessly as I kept walking towards the Whitmore building.
"Why don't you finish the rest of the story, Damon?" Aaron asked as I walked past him and I furrowed my eyebrows, stopping and looking back at him.
"I don't recall saying you could talk." Stefan stated as he pointed towards Aaron who rose an eyebrow. "Did I say that he could talk?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows at me and I shook my head and shrugged.
"I don't remember anything." I answered as I looked at Aaron who sighed.
"I didn't think so." Stefan agreed in amusement, making me smirk as we walked on.
-Mariana-
"I get it now." Nadia stated as she looked away from the window and around the second living room in the house. "If I was living here, I'd want to kill myself, too." She pointed out sarcastically and I rolled my eyes as Katherine poured herself some of the green smoothie she just made.
"It was a moment of weakness. I'm over it." Katherine replied with a sigh and I sat on the couch across from her, as she stood at a coffee table.
"In a moment of weakness, you eat chocolate or kiss the wrong boy. You don't jump off a clock tower." Nadia countered in annoyance and I smirked in amusement.
"Do you see this?" Katherine asked, gesturing towards the smoothie she held. "This is raw Kale. In what universe would I put this inside of my body unless I actually wanted to live another day?" She pointed out skeptically and I rose my eyebrow at her as she drank it in disgust.
"Okay.. so what made you change your mind?" I scoffed, eyeing her already knowing what of who.. She was going to say.
"It's not so much a matter of what—as it is who." Katherine answered and I rose my eyebrow at her. Called it. "Can I ask you something?" She asked, looking at Nadia who tilted her head back. "From a absentee mother to a mildly abusive daughter?" Katherine added in amusement as she handed Nadia and I each our own smoothie.
"I'm listening." Nadia replied, listening intently to Katherine as she now sat on the other side of the couch.
"Do you think that after all the horrible things that I've done.. that it would be possible to actually be forgiven?" Katherine asked in a serious tone as she looked between Nadia and I now. I stared at her for a few seconds before I looked at Nadia who's face lit up, thinking Katherine was maybe talking about her.. Oh.. Silly, silly girl.
"Of course I do.. that's actually why I'm here." Nadia answered with sympathy before she quickly stood standing up. "I may have an idea that will keep you alive longer." She stated and Katherine rose her eyebrow, as did I.
"I'm listening.." Katherine replied, fully interested in the subject now and I sighed a bit as I drank my smoothie quietly.
-Elena-
I looked around the basement of my dad's clinic in pure boredom and pain as the vervain drip was still seeping into my body. "When did you meet my dad?" I asked weakly, looking up at Wes who was measuring the blood samples he took from me.
"He was working with Augustine to turn vampire blood into an all-magical cure-all. To fight disease, cure cancer, save the world." Wes answered before he wrote something down in a book that was sat beside him.
"Do you know if he ever brought a vampire down here?" I asked, hearing how scratchy my voice was as I looked around at all of the machines again. Wes ignored me as he took his notebook around me and towards my drip before he wrote more things down. "I remember coming down here as a kid because Mariana wanted to investigate.." I pointed out as I looked around again, noticing all of the equipment Wes brought from his lab. "But there was always something about this place that creeped me out." I added in slight disgust and discomfort as Wes continued to ignore me and I rolled my eyes. "Wes, I saw Enzo when I woke up.. I know he's alive." I warned, narrowing my eyes towards Wes' back as he wrote down more things. "Where is he?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows as he finally turned back to me.
"He's on a little day trip." Wes answered as he stood above me. "Apparently He has some unresolved business with Mariana's boyfriend." He added in an uninterested voice before I quickly shook the straps I was in, trying to get out.
"What did you do?" I asked in concern as Wes walked back towards his blood samples, continuing to ignore me again. "What did you do?" I repeated in a more quiet voice as all of the terrible thoughts started running through my head now.
-Damon-
Which one is it?" I asked as Stefan, Aaron and I walked down another corridor of the college building towards Wes' class.
"It's right here." Aaron replied before he opened one of the class doors and the three of us walked in to see it empty.. Mostly.
"21052." A familiar and excited voice said loudly. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked towards the back of the room to see a familiar face smirking down at me from where he sat.
"Enzo?" I asked, completely taken aback at the sight of him. Stefan furrowed his eyebrows and looked at me in confusion as Enzo stood up and narrowed his eyes at me.
"It's been awhile, mate." Enzo pointed out in amusement and I felt my body tense as he started walking down the rows of seats towards us.
"Who the hell are you?" Stefan asked as he watched Enzo while I stood there.. frozen almost.
"Lorenzo.. But my friends call me Enzo." Enzo replied with a sigh as he made his way towards us. "Ah, kidding. I don't have any friends." He added as he held a hand out towards Stefan who ignored it, making him chuckle while Stefan rose an eyebrow at me.
"Enzo's another Augustine vampire." I clarified and watched as Enzo tilted his head at me. "Our cells were next to each other." I added with a shrug. "So we're here to meet somebody. Wes Maxfield.. You know him?" I asked, letting out a bored sigh as I looked at Enzo.
"That's your first question for me?" Enzo scoffed in disbelief and I narrowed my eyes at him. "No 'how are you?—How'd you survive in that fire I left you to die in'?" He added, obviously agitated.
"Uh.. Does somebody wanna tell me what the hell is going on here?" Aaron asked from the other side of Stefan and Enzo looked at him.
"I'd love to. Have a seat." Enzo answered, gesturing towards the empty seats filling the classroom. "Been waiting seventy years to tell my story." He added as he jumped up and sat on the desk in the middle of the class. I rose an eyebrow and exchanged a somewhat concerned and displeased look with Stefan.
-Elena-
I watched Wes unhooked me from the machines and the blood drip he put in my arm while I sat under him, completely weak. "Enzo is the Augustine vampire.. He killed my roommate Megan, didn't he?" I asked as I looked up at Wes who silently unhooked me.
"Conserve your energy. I've drained enough blood to start phase two." Wes pointed out as he put my blood drip to the side.
"Let me guess. You're not going to tell me what phase two is, are you?" I asked in annoyance as I slowly looked up at the ceiling now.
"If it works, you'll be the first one to know." Wes replied emotionlessly, clearly very enthusiastic about his study. I let my head drop to the side of me as Wes went back towards his samples.
"Why did Megan have a picture of my dad in her cellphone?" I asked weakly, hearing my voice get more worse by the hour.
"Maybe because her parents helped fund your fathers projects." Wes answered, not looking back at me as he examined my blood.
"They knew about Augustine, too?" I asked, completely taken back at the fact as Wes slowly picked up his box of samples and walked around me.
"Well, no. All they knew is that your dad had a unregulated compound that could cure most injuries." Wes answered as he set the samples on the small metal table beside me.
"Vampire blood.." I whispered in realization and Wes nodded back at me with his back turned.
"Exactly. But as Megan grew up, she got suspicious, enrolled at Whitmore, roomed with Dr. Gilbert's daughter, and she went to a party at Whitmore House and put her nose where it didn't belong." Wes stated, making me furrow my eyebrows at him as he put whatever type of sample he made, into the gas chamber.
"Found Enzo in his cell." I stated, catching on to what Wes was saying.
"And being clueless to what a starving vampire will do around human blood, I'm guessing she got too close." Wes pointed out emotionlessly before his phone started ringing once again and I rose an eyebrow as he answered it. "Aaron." He stated into the phone and I rose an eyebrow but I could already feel my eyes start to drop again and I was far too weak to listen to the conversation. "Funny.. I have Elena here and I'm wondering how she'll function without her cerebral cortex. Touch him, and you'll never see her again." Wes stated in warning down at me before I dozed off completely.
-Damon-
"Damon and I had been locked in those cells for years. Tortured, beaten, humiliated." Enzo stated as he sat on Wes' desk in front of Aaron who sat in the front row of the class while I stood in the aisle of chairs. "But we weren't going to let them break us, no." He added with a chuckle as he looked at me but I didn't pay him any attention. "We decides that if we needed to escape, we needed to work together. We needed each other." Enzo pointed out in a harsh voice, obviously angry with the outcome. The classroom door opened and we all looked towards Stefan who walked in and I rose an eyebrow.
"Wes isn't sending her." Stefan stated in annoyance and I rolled my eyes in defeat.
"Tragic. Can I continue my story now, please?" Enzo countered while I furrowed my eyebrows as Stefan stood next to me.
"Doesn't he know we have Aaron?" I asked in confusion and Stefan shrugged back at me.
"He doesn't care. He's willing to risk it." Stefan answered as she shook his head before Enzo groaned and jumped off of the desk.
"What? Let me talk to him! Hell listen to me." Aaron stated in concern from where he sat and I sighed loudly.
"What part of 'he doesn't care' are you not registering?" I asked in annoyance towards the kid as Enzo grabbed a chair from the many rows and pulled it out from the floor and throwing it across from him angrily. We al looked at in confusion as he stood in front of us and out a smile on his face.
"Where was we?" Enzo asked and I rose an eyebrow at him as Aaron and Stefan did also. "Ah, right, I was telling my story and you were al politely listening." He pointed out in irritation as I exchanged a look with Stefan while he walked back towards the desk. "So! I'd given Damon all of my blood ration so he'd have the strength to escape and save me in the process." Enzo stated with a smile towards me and I sighed. "Our plan began perfectly, didn't it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me as I looked down. "I was waiting in the cage for him to release me—my friend to release me.. My cellmate. The soul which whom I connected with in all those years of captivity." Enzo stated as he stared at me but I couldn't give him eye contact. "Then the first starts, burns out of control, but Damon just can't get the damn cage open... He finally steps back and tells me he's sorry—He looks me in the eye as if he doesn't even recognize me, and he turns around, saves himself. Leaving me to die." He finished in disbelief from where he leant against the desk as Stefan rose an eyebrow at me.
"Well, you didn't die obviously." Stefan pointed out emotionlessly, making Enzo scoff lightly.
"No. Unfortunately, I lived." Enzo replied in disgust and I furrowed my eyebrows. "I was spared by one of the scientists so I can spend another fifty years on a table, being opened and closed." He pointed out emotionlessly before he let a smile spread across his face. "Well, now that we've all been aquatinted, I'm going to go find something to set my whistle." Enzo stayed with a shrug before he walked towards the exit and Stefan furrowed his eyebrows, obviously disturbed.
"You didn't tell me about him." Stefan stated as he looked at me skeptically and I scoffed.
"It was in the 1950's, and I'm supposed to remember every moment of my life? Do you want to kill Aaron or should I?" I countered, changing the subject as I gestured a hand down at the twerp.
"This Guy was your cellmate for five years, you left him to die, he comes back, and you're completely unfazed?" Stefan asked me in disbelief and gave him a fake smile.
"Fine. I will." I replied emotionlessly before I turned towards Aaron who quickly got up from his chair and held his hands out towards me.
"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, hold on, hold on. Wes gave me a bunch of files on my family history. They're in my room, my dorm—maybe there's something in there you need? A name, I mean, another lab?" Aaron asked quickly as he looked between Stefan and I.
"That's a timely revolution." I pointed out as I tilted my head at Aaron who let his hands fall beside him.
"Yeah, well, you know, he's not going to help me so why should I help him?" Aaron asked in a heavy breath and I narrowed my hands at him.
"I don't like you, I don't like your family, I don't like you messing with my relationships by kidnapping my girlfriend's sister—" I started emotionlessly as I walked slowly towards Aaron and watched as he walked backwards in fear. "If you're lying, I'm gonna take my thumbs and gauge out your sad little eyes out of your sad little head!" I yelled loudly as he now cowered before me while Enzo walked back into the room.
"Ah! It's frightening what you can find on campus these days." Enzo stated and I looked towards him as he held a bottle of tequila and shot glasses in his hands.
"Knock yourself out, we're going with plan 'B'." Stefan pointed out as I grabbed Aaron by the collar and moved him towards Stefan while Enzo put the bottle on the desk.
"Damon's not. Damon's staying right here." Enzo replied, making me furrow my eyebrows and exchanged a look with Stefan as I let Aaron go. "Damon knows all of my secrets, so he knows how ornery I can get when I don't get my way." He added in a threatening voice and I sighed as Stefan rose an eyebrow at me.
"Call me if you find anything. Kill him if you don't." I stated in annoyance before Stefan and Arron walked out of the room. I looked at Enzo who smirked back at me and poured a shot of tequila.
-Mariana-
"You didn't just propose spirit possession with a straight face." Katherine stated in some amusement as she put down the bourbon she just poured into a glass.
"You said that my grandfather—our grandfather, was a traveler, which means your father was a traveler. Therefore, you are a traveler." Nadia pointed out as she explained it to Katherine who seemed completely uninterested. "We just need to find one who can teach you how to do the passenger spell." She added reassuringly and I rose my eyebrow.
"Hang on, I'm hardly a traveler, okay? My father banned us from doing traveler magic. He said it was the devils work of something dramatic that terrified us. And then I became a vampire and well, never thought about it again." Katherine stated with a small shrug as she sat in the chair across from us.
"But it's in your blood, which means you have the ability to keep living inside of someone else's body—" Nadia started before I cut her off.
"Which doesn't mean that she should, Nadia." I argued from where I sat beside her.
"Good idea, Nadia. Let's put my essence inside of a nobody. Thing is, Stefan actually likes this body." Katherine stated, pointing her body up and down while Nadia furrowed her eyebrows.
"What are you talking about?" Nadia asked confused, shaking her head.
"Stefan and her may have 'rekindled' an old flame last night." I replied in disgust as Katherine smirked and started twisting a piece of hair from her bun around her finger.
"I see.." Nadia whispered as she looked away from Katherine quietly. "So when you were asking about forgiveness, you were asking about him.. not me?" She asked, looking back at Katherine who sighed a heavy breath.
"Look, maybe I don't want to die a sad, lonely, five hundred and thirty-eight year old. If I have to go out, knowing that Stefan still cares, might not be the worst way to go." Katherine stated with a shrug and Nadia slowly nodded at her, narrowing her eyes.
"No, you had it right the first time.. Go kill yourself, see if anyone misses you." Nadia replied emotionlessly before she got up from the couch quickly and walked out of the room. I sighed at Katherine who furrowed her eyebrows and looked at me.
"What did I say?" Katherine asked in confusion confused and I rolled my eyes at her.
"Oh, nothing. That's just Katherine fashion." I replied in annoyance before I got up and walked after Nadia who was standing just outside in the hallway, staring at the wall. "I'm sorry about her. It's just how she's always been. Being selfish is the way she survived." I stated quietly as I folded my arms over my chest. I watched as Nadia turned towards me before pulling some sort of knife on out of her jacket pocket and gesturing it towards me.
"I need you to keep this. It's a traveler's knife." Nadia pointed out quietly and I furrowed my eyebrows down at it.
"Why do I need to keep this?" I asked in confusion, taking it from her slowly.
"Because I'm leaving Mystic Falls and I need to know it's safe." Nadia answered emotionlessly and I looked down at it and rose an eyebrow.
"Safe from who?" I asked again and watched as she looked away from me and sighed.
"I thought I could convince Katherine to live a little longer, but I was wrong.. And if changes her mind, she'll need this." Nadia stated, looking down at the knife in my hands.
"Well, she won't." I stated emotionlessly and gestured the knife back to Nadia who furrowed her eyebrows. "Because Katherine cares about Katherine and only Katherine. If she doesn't want to do something, then she won't. Trust me." I pointed out with a shrug and Nadia slowly nodded and sat down in a chair in the hallway.
"I spent five hundred years searching for her.. I finally find her, only to lose her all over again. I don't know if I should hate her for giving up.. or be at her side when she dies." Nadia whispered quietly from below me as she furrowed her eyebrows in defeat.
"Listen.. I get the whole crappy parenting thing, okay? Same mother and all.." I stated in defeat and watched as she looked back up at me skeptically, making me sigh. "My point is that Katherine will always be a selfish bitch. It's been her nature for five hundred years.. And that doesn't change just because has a few daughters who expect more out of her." I pointed out with a shrug and Nadia gave me a small scoff.
"Yeah, I'm starting to notice.. But then you know what it's like to hold onto the hope that maybe just once.. she'll do what you want." Nadia replied quietly, looking away from me as tears filled her eyes and I looked back down at the knife and sighed, thinking it over in my head.
"In case she changes her mind.. It'll be with me." I stated emotionlessly as I put the knife in my back pocket of my jeans and Nadia looked up at me in confusion. "We're family.. Even with Katherine as a mother, that doesn't mean we have to hate each other." I added before I walked away from her and down the hall.
-Damon-
"What about cricket?" Enzo asked after he downed another shot. "Did that ever become a thing here?" He added, looking at me from where I sat across from the window he stood in front of.
"No." I answered emotionlessly as I stared at the wall in front of me.
"Hm. Shame, from sport. Not that I could play. I took up drawing for awhile." Enzo pointed out as he came towards me but I ignored him. "Of course I had no pencil so I just pricked my finger and painted the cell wall with blood." He stated, filling another shot as he stood beside me and I rolled my eyes.
"What do you want?" I asked as I looked towards him and he smirked back at me. "You want me to feel guilty? I couldn't save you.." I pointed out in defeat before I clenched my jaw. "Now where's Elena?" I added before Enzo groaned and hunched over, putting the shot glass and bottle down. "What's wrong with you?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows at him as he sighed.
"Wes injected me with poison that will stop my heart. I'll desiccate if I don't return for the antidote." Enzo answered in defeat before I got up from the chair I leant in.
"All the more reason to tell me where he is." I pointed out as I looked at him. "Look, you'll get the antidote, I'll save my girlfriend's sister and then we'll kill Wes together." I suggested as Enzo leant against a chair for support.
"Did you even think about it when you left?" Enzo asked as he stared at me and I rose an eyebrow. "The experiments, the cell, or did you just go out and live your mercy life to its fullest?" He added, walking down the aisle steps and I scoffed lightly as I stepped towards him.
"If you go back, we go back together. We finish this for good." I countered, looking at him as silence surrounded us now. "Come on." I added in defeat and held out a hand for him to shake. Enzo rose an eyebrow at it and looked down at it before he gave short nod and took it, only for his grasp to tighten as he pulled me close harshly.
"You're never gonna see your girl again or save Elena, Damon." Enzo threatened as he broke my hand and I groaned and looked down at it. "Because I want the antidote and Wes told me not to come back until you were dead." He pointed out emotionlessly before he grabbed me quickly and threw me out the window behind him. I widened my eyes and groaned as I hit the glass before all I felt was the air around me until I hit the hood of a car. I groaned as I slowly removed the remaining glass and wood off of me. "I imagine you jut broke your clavicle. Probably a few lumbar and thoracic vertebrae." Enzo stated as he came out of the building limping from the poison that ran through him while I started getting off of the car. Enzo rolled up his sleeves angrily as I stood up and narrowed my eyes at him. "It's amazing what you learn about your body when it's taken apart like a bloody automobile right before your eyes!" He added angrily through gritted teeth as he stepped towards me and I sighed.
"I'm not gonna fight you, Enzo." I stated emotionlessly only to get punched in the face in return.
"What are you gonna do then, run? You're good at that." Enzo countered as I clenched my jaw back at him. Enzo threw another fist towards me but I grabbed it in my hand and he groaned as I crushed it angrily.
"I want to find Elena so I can go home to my girlfriend with a full conscious." I stated annoyance before I threw him away from me. I cracked my neck and watched as Enzo rolled on the ground before he got up and chuckled back at me.
"While you were out running wild, I had one single thought... That I'd have the pleasure of killing you." Enzo stated with heavy breaths as he pointed a finger towards me and I clenched my jaw. Enzo vamped towards me and grabbed my throat in his hand tightly, only to furrow his eyebrows as the veins through his skin started turning black. Enzo's hand let go of my throat and he groaned, about to topple over but I grabbed him.
"Enzo, look at me." I warned, Making him look straight at me as he clenched his teeth.
"The bloody poison!" Enzo stated angrily in heavy breaths and I shook him, trying to keep his focus on me.
"Look at me. Where's Elena—Tell me where she is!" I yelled in frustration towards him only for him to scowl back at me.
"Or what!? You'll never see her again? It might be good for you to know what it's like to miss someone for the next sixty years!" Enzo countered and groaned loudly as the poison spread throughout his neck and hands and I widened my eyes as he fell into me.
"Enzo! Look at me!" I warned down towards him but he groaned louder as we both fell to the ground. "Enzo! Where is she—Where is she, hey?" I asked down towards him and watched as he became silent and slowly started to desiccate in my grasp.
-Elena-
"Good news. The sample cells mutated. My compound worked." Wes stated as I groggily fluttered open my eyes and watched as he walked around me and towards the samples he had set on the metal table earlier.
"I don't follow. You kicked me out of bio, remember?" I asked sarcastically as I watched him, now wearing a lab coat and he sighed.
"You've heard of Pavlov? Conditioned his dog to salivate at the sound of a bell. This compound is like that bell except instead of a ding, your body will salivate at the smell of vampire blood." Wes pointed out as he held the sample of his compound in his hand.
"Oh, my god." I whispered in confusion and watched as Wes walked around me again. "That's what you did to Jesse." I pointed out groggily as Wes put his compound into a syringe. "You turned him into some rabid vampire who only wanted to feed on other vampires." I added and Wes rose an eyebrow.
"Jesse was a fantastic case study. But he took too long to condition. And considering the size of the vampire population, a single dose injection is much more efficient." Wes stated, testing out the syringe and I furrowed my eyebrows up at him weakly.
"Yeah, but he couldn't stop feeding. He tried to kill Damon." I argued in defense, making Wes nod back at me.
"Exactly. Vampires are now one shot away from craving their own kind." Wes replied in amusement and I narrowed my eyes at him. "And you're about to be patient zero." He added, making my skin crawl and my body tense up.
"What? No." I asked, breathing heavily in confusion. "No, no, you can't do that to me. You'll turn me into a ripper." I stated weakly in concern but Wes ignored my plea.
"I know." Wes replied, fascinated as he looked down at his syringe and back at me, making me slowly shake my head in disbelief as he pulled out his recorder. "Subject 83182 prepped for compound injection." He stated, staring at me emotionlessly and I weakly tried to break free of the straps around me once again.
"No, no—please. You can't do this to me." I pleaded in a shaky voice as I looked up at him as he came closer to me.
"You'll be doing the world a favor, Elena." Wes reassured and I shook my head quickly, pulling on the straps around my wrists harder as Wes put a hand around my arm, holding me still and I widened my eyes.
"No, no—let me go. Please." I pleaded, watching as the syringe crept closer towards me.
"But you will." Wes finished emotionlessly before he plunged the syringe into my chest and I groaned out loudly.
"Elena!" Stefan's voice asked from somewhere upstairs and I widened my eyes towards the burnt steps that I had clear vision of.
"Stefan!" I screamed and looked back at Wes before I groaned and head butted him. Wes fell back into the floor unconscious as Stefan called into the basement and widened his eyes at the setup. "I'm down here... I'm here." I whispered weakly as I set my head gently back on the table.
"Oh, god.." Stefan whispered in disbelief at the sight before he stepped over Wes and started breaking the straps around my feet and arms. I groaned from where I was laying before Stefan pulled me and stood me in front of him, putting my face in his hands as he breathed heavily. "I got you. I got you—I got you." Stefan reassured as he hugged me tightly and I nodded before we both looked down at Wes who was laying below us.
"Get me out of here." I stayed weakly and Stefan nodded and gently walked me out of the room. As we passed the desk Wes had sitting there, I snatched the journal he had been reading throughout the entire day.. I'm sure he wouldn't be missing it.
-Damon-
I examined the many different samples of antidotes that Wes had in his lab before I heard a gasp and turned to see Enzo sit up from the table behind me. "Oh.. Nevermind." I pointed out in amusement while Enzo furrowed his eyebrows at me.
"What did you do now?" Enzo asked in confusion and I sighed, looking at him from over my shoulder as I leant against the counter.
"Well, I injected you with a bunch of these that say 'Antidote'.. And apparently one of them worked." I answered, turning towards him in the chair I sat in only for him to quickly get off of the table and pace in front of me.
"If this was some attempt to make amends, it's a bit pathetic, mate." Enzo pointed out, obviously not in the mood for banter.
"I don't care about amends, 'mate'. My girlfriend's sister is safe so technically I'm not suffering her wrath, and it'd really suck if you desiccated in vain.." I pointed out and watched Enzo tilt his head at me angrily before he vamped towards me threateningly, making me plunge a hand into his chest while he groaned. "And I wanna tell you my side of the story. You asked me if I thought about you after I escaped, and the answer is no." I stated angrily towards him as I trusted his heart in my hand, making him grunt and gasp from under me. "And I sure as hell don't feel guilty about leaving you because in order for me to save myself and leave you—I had to shut off my humanity, damn it." I pointed out in anger as I looked at him and watched him furrow his eyebrows. "So I flipped the switch, and I felt nothing. No remorse, no regret, no pain." I added emotionlessly, making Enzo smirk a bit.
"And now what do you feel?" Enzo asked before he gasped loudly as I clenched his heart harder. "Remorse, regret, pain? Even if I forgave you, Damon, would that make you less of a horrible person?" He added emotionlessly towards me before I clenched onto his heart harder.
"Damn it! We're even Enzo." I warned before I pushed him away from me and pulled my hand out easily. Enzo backed away from me and put a hand over his chest as it healed while I stared down at the blood on my hand.
"You were the most important person in my life and you ruined me, but that's just who you are." Enzo stated as he stared at me now and I became silent. "That's who you'll always be.." He added with a small smirk and I looked away from him. "A monster." Enzo finished emotionlessly and I watched as he walked away and left me in the laboratory alone.
-Mariana-
I walked into the living room and watched as Elena flipped through pages of the journal she brought back with her from Dad's clinic. "It's weird. Even as a kid, there was something about that basement that creeped me out." Elena stated in confusion as I walked towards her and sat beside her in the couch.
"Sure you wanna give yourself nightmares reading that thing? I'm still trying to get over the fact that it's dad's journal." I pointed out, tilting my head at her as she examined it.
"Do you ever remember him talking about this little girl around us? Because I think he was talking about my roommate Megan. I mean, look—'January 1999. I saw Megan King today. Megan is seven years old. She suffers from a congenital heart defect with the life expectancy of two months. A single injection of vampire blood appears to be an effective life-saving solution.' That's why Megan had a picture of dad in her phone—because he saved her life." Elena stated in realization and I watched her smile a bit and I rose my eyebrow.
"A hundred pages of horrific torture and you find one happy passage." I asked in disbelief as I shook my head.
"Dad used his research to save people, Mari. Children, families—" Elena started before I quickly cut her off.
"Yeah, and dissected vampires along the way." I countered in confusion as I looked at her. "News flash, Elena—we are vampires. I mean, do you honestly think that he would sit here and see us as anything more?" I asked and Elena shrugged back at me.
"I don't know.. but he's our dad, Mariana, I can't not defend him." Elena pointed out as she closed the journal and I slowly nodded and stood up.
"Yeah, I know." I agreed in defeat before I walked out of the living room and into the hall to see Damon standing there. "Hey, you." I stated as I gave him a smile as he returned a small one.
"You can't be mad at her for defending your dad, Mar.. Especially when you defend me all the time." Damon stated emotionlessly and I rose an eyebrow and slowly folded my arms over my chest.
"I'm not defending you." I countered in confusion as I looked him over. "I'm not defending your decision to kill Aaron's entire family.. To go out of town and kill his aunt—while we were together." I added emotionlessly and he scoffed lightly.
"So why are you still here?" Damon asked and I rose an eyebrow at his question. "I'm bad, Mariana, I'm bad for you, so why wouldn't you have run away from me as far as humanly possible?" He added in annoyance, gesturing towards the door and I sighed deeply.
"Because I love you, Damon. I mean, I chose you and I'm standing by my choice." I pointed out as I ran a hand gently over his arm while he stared down at me quietly.
"Well, now I'm choosing." Damon replied emotionlessly and I furrowed my eyebrows at him as he backed away from me. "And I'm choosing to let you go." He added quietly, looking away from me and I slowly shook my head.
"What?" I asked, completely taken aback. I stood there waiting for the catch but I didn't get one. "No, Damon—" I started in protest but he cut me off.
"I am choosing to not have to think about how you must feel every time a ghost from my past comes into our life—I am choosing to relieve you of having to defend me for every awful thing that I've ever done—" Damon started in anger before I cut him off.
"Stop acting like I'm perfect, Damon. I've done horrible things, too. You think I'm going to stand here and judge you after I find out that you've been tortured for five years?" I scoffed back at him as he started walking away only to turn back towards me.
"Stop defending me!" Damon yelled back at me, showing aggression that he has never given me in the time we have been together. He slowly took a deep breath and looked me straight in the eyes. "I won't change who I am, Mariana.. I can't. And I'll be damned if I'm going to change you." He finally said before walking up the stairs and leaving me alone in the hall. I sighed deeply and backed up against the wall, knowing that Elena was listening from inside of the living room.. I felt my eyes glaze over and I shook my head and put a hand over my mouth as tears threatened to spill.
"So we have a deal? You'll find me a traveler that will teach me how to do the spell?" Katherine asked in a quiet voice as she came down the stairs with bags in her hand and I furrowed my eyebrows as she didn't see me yet.
"I guess this means you want to live?" Nadia asked in amusement from the other side of the phone.
"I'm a survivor. Staying alive is my specialty." Katherine replied with a sigh as she stopped just above the last staircase.
"Mm-hmm. Assuming it's on your terms. Clearly Stefan inspired some profound thinking." Nadia stated with a chuckle, making Katherine smirk.
"I think Stefan believes that a part of me can still be redeemed." Katherine answered and I rose my eyebrow as I watched her quietly.
"And what do you think? Is he right?" Nadia asked her and Katherine furrowed her eyebrows in return, about to answer before the bad of clothes she held, dropped abruptly. Katherine gripped her arm and dropped the phone as she started groaning in pain and held a hand over her heart. "Katherine?" Nadia asked worriedly from the phone as Katherine's breaths became jagged.
"Katherine?" I asked in confusion as she grabbed into the railing beside her for support only to slip. I gasped as Katherine fell down the rest of the stairs and became completely unconscious in front of me. "Katherine!" I yelled, vamping towards her and checking her pulse. "Katherine!" I repeated, shaking my head down at her worriedly as her pulse became faint.